To what extent, if at all, have Americans been changing their habits in consequence of high gasoline prices? Are they switching to smaller cars? Where able, are they switching to public transport?

There's been some news of a downturn in sale of General Motors' SUVs but that may not mean a lot.There may be other reasons for that, including fashion.Indeed, is any change in habit anything more than a response to a sudden fashion,or sudden scare, which will change once Americans adjust to paying $4 a gallon? After all, at $4 the fuel is still cheap.The cost really can't represent a very high percentage of the typical family's income, even at that level.

The French have shown a change. Last month their car industry reported a leap of 28 per cent in the sale of cars such as the Peugeot 107, cars with an engine of 998 cc, in the year. The market overall showed an increase of 5 per cent in sales. The increase in vehicles of larger capacity was 3 per cent.The French pay a lot more for gas, of course ( over $9 a US gallon).On the other hand, the typical French car is of smaller engine capacity than the typical American one.A drop from 2 litres to one may not save them a great amount of fuel. More telling is their preference for diesels, which they've demonstrated for some years.

Gasoline usage heads down

Not much, but it's a start.

I think Americans are pretty spoiled and set in their ways and will go to great lengths to avoid being inconvenienced. I wonder how many people in forclosure never considered trading in their Hummer. I wonder how many people fill up their gas tank rather than carpool and have money to buy winter coats for their children. We have strange priorities, it seems to me.